Consequences
by aslycsi1315
Summary: Seven years, 2,673 days if he's being specific, have passed without any major blowback from the Navy SEAL's dangerous actions for Danny and Steve. Now it's day 2,674 and McGarrett's now almost certain his partner is dead because of him
1. Chapter 1

He's going to kill the next person who asks him if he's ok.

It's not a metaphorical, 'kill', like Kono has a habit of muttering under her breath at the old woman who manages to pull in front of the young officer at the same intersection every time she's in a rush to get to the palace or Lou's angry mutter under the breath in direct towards Kamekono's spicy mouth burning Friday shrimp combo. Hell, it can't touch Danny's near daily, ' _You Neanderthal- if you kill me or break that liver, I'll kill you twice'_ nag .

No, this is a - _I will actually kill the next person who asks if I'm all right_.

Steve McGarrett rests against the rails that lines the windowed hallway at Queen's Medical Center. Two floor above the ground level, the SEAL is standing directly between the non- emergency ICU and the cardiology wing, drenched in sweat and trembling in his Kevlar vest, navy blue button down and cargo pants. He can't enjoy the beautiful evening setting sun that's left a cool, calming feel in the hallway; instead, he's waiting impatiently and daring someone to bring the news he's been hell bent on avoiding for the last four hours.

"Sir, can I get you a-"

Steve's eyes flicker over to the short brown haired nurse standing in light purple scrubs by his side. She smiles slightly at the commander and doesn't flinch when the man's dark brown eyes darken. Steve glances down to the identification tag dangling from the woman's neck and reads off her name quickly - _Hailey._

"I'm Five-0." It's a short, terse response that comes from Steve. "Leave me alone."

"I know you're Five -0, Commander McGarrett," Hailey responds. She points to his Kevlar vest and adds, "I've taken two bullets out of you, remember?"

 _If Danny was here, he'd have a goddamn list of nags ready to go. I miss that list._ Steve shakes his head and rests his head against the glass of the wide windows that displays downtown Oahu. The thought of his partner makes him want to scream, puke- yell, cry and kill, if that nurse or anyone else asks, _Are you okay?_

"Oh, Nurse Hathaway….thanks, I've got it….he's…we've had…a _day._ I've got it."

 _Kono._ The young officer's voice, much calming than the nurse's, suddenly appears behind the pair. He doesn't look over to see Kono pull Hailey to the side and mutter something barely audible to her about 'the job'. He blanks out everything around him until there's a gentle touch on his shoulder bringing him back to reality.

"Steve," Kono calls out softly. She's back in a pair of jeans and HPD sweatshirt instead of the black pants and low cut shirt she had been wearing as a cover hours earlier. "Boss, you have to eat or drink something. Boss?"

Steve opens his mouth to back off but his guilty conscious takes over. "Danny's dead, isn't he? They….he's dead because of me, isn't he?"

Kono's eyes widen slowly, her eyes brimming with worry and concern. "Steve, that isn't what….what do you think happened?"

* * *

 **Four hours ago**

Standing a few feet away from the edges of the King Kamehameha statue in downtown Oahu, the team stands in a huddled group, gearing up for a raid on one of the adjacent business buildings across the street. It's one of Oahu's rare cloudy days that's started with a team of four masked suspects robbing a jewelry ten blocks down the road, stealing a white 2017 Lexus RX and driving erratically down the streets of Oahu towers the statue.

Toss in five hostages taken by the suspects off of the sidewalk and it can officially be considered by many of being one hell of a case.

Or in Danny's opinion, a case that's Steve's fault.

"That doesn't make any sense, Danny," Kono jokes as she tightens the right strap on her Kevlar vest. She pulls her Colt M4 Carbine sling over her neck and attaches the rifle quickly. "So a robbery on a Tuesday is Steve's fault?"

"Don't get him started," Chin warns fruitlessly, but as expected, Danny's already out the door, "No, it does make sense. We seem to be cursed with a robbery on Tuesdays every week, which always happens to be the day McSeal gets a package from ammunition weekly."

Steve darts between the two men, ignoring his partner's comment. His mind is racing as usual- as a Navy SEAL; a one tracked mind had been drilled into him- _assess the situation, analyze the players, mark out your moves and go-_ but now there's room for a little internal snide little joke towards his partner that would push Danny into a full blown rant filled with random hand waving and an offer to pay for therapy.

"HPD just gave the update that SWAT is ready to breach the first floor," Steve states quickly.

"Do we have eyes on where our suspects might be now?" Kono asks.

"Nope, our SWAT boys are feeling a special type of trigger happy today," Lou finishes, joining the group. "We've got two with multiple weapons and one with grena-"

A heavy explosion cuts Lou off- the windows on the first floor suddenly shatter as deep flames erupts from the windows. The entire Five-0 team and handful of HPD officers duck behind the scattered HPD cars as bystanders scramble in different directions. Steve manages to raise his head slightly over the trunk to see of the suspects duck out of one of the side doors that leads into an alley.

"Danny on me! Chin, Kono- check the building! Lou- get me eyes on a two radius!" Steve yells over his shoulder. He glances over his shoulders to see him react as if they were moving in slow motion- Chin pushing Kono along the side of the vehicle, Lou raising the barrel of his shotgun towards the chaos on the street and Danny locking eyes with him, ready to follow his lead.

And then as it's Tuesday, everything goes to hell.

* * *

"Hey, are you listening to me?"

Kono's hand touch his shoulder and Steve jumps suddenly at her quick, gentle touch. She's standing much closer to him now, shaking her head at his guilt ridden expression. She begins pulling at his Kevlar straps and quickly pulls the blood soaked vest over his head. "There's no way you could have predicted what would happen next."

"Don't, don't, Kono," Steve grimaces and points towards the ICU, "You know that this is on me- I go towards danger and Da- Danny's always ok." Touching his right temple with his index finger, he stammers, "And now he has a….he was shot."

* * *

His suspect is too easy.

Steve stands up from one of the suspects he chased onto a delivery ramp half a block away handcuffed prone on the pavement. It's calm in the air which he assumes to be a sign of the case being in the clear- it's a change from the screams, the fire engines and police sirens blaring in the air and the gunshot assuming to be from his suspects and team members.

Steve drops off of the ramp and puts a finger to his ear to call Danny. During their pursuit, they had split ways with Danny continuing after the first suspect down the main street. By now, Steve's getting ready to call for an all clear and a quick back and forth with his partner when he turns the corner and sees a familiar figure lying face down on the pavement between a concrete bollard and an empty white truck.

 _I know that- is that-_ "Danny?" he mumbles. The ex- SEAL takes a few a shaky steps before he recognizes the same black slacks and shoes his partner had been wearing earlier. His breath leaves him and he stammers, "Danny?"

The sight of blood pooling onto the concrete near Danny's temple causes his knees to shake. "Danno?"

"McGarrett, where's our- goddamn it, Williams! Someone call 911-"

Steve takes a staggering step backwards and repeats, "Danno?" as Lou drops to his knees next to his partner. _Lou, talk to me. Tell me he didn't get shot!_

The dark haired man blinks again and finds himself being pushed back by Lou and Kono. _Tell me alive,_ repeats over and over in his head, _tell me he isn't lying on the pavement bleeding. Tell me I still have Danno._


	2. Chapter 2

_Cerebral edema._

 _How in the hell can two words feel like a goddamn gunshot?_

It's a simple, single question that bounces around Chin's head on the brutally long walk from the emergency room. He's taken the long way- pausing momentarily at the nursery, smiling sadly at a young Hawaiian girl in a wheelchair and nearly bumping into an older gentleman that was struggling to reach for a magazine. Normally, he'd stop and apologize and even joke to make the young girl smile, but he's a man with news that'll break his friend.

 _Hey, Steve. I know that you think you've killed Danny, but good news- he's alive! Bad news- his brain is swelling._

Chin grips his cellphone tightly in his hand, waiting for the right time to call Kono with the news. He knows that she's watching McGarrett like a hawk, trying to snap him out of the daze he's been in since the ambulance had arrived on scene. With Lou running down to Charlie and Grace's schools to pick them up, he'll damn near explode if he doesn't get someone to contact to bounce ideas off of how best to break the news to Steve.

 _Jerry._ It takes only a few seconds to speed dial Five-0's special consultant, who's either buried under paperwork chasing Amelia Earhart or on the beach with Kamekona. Two rings pass before he hears, "I'm almost there, Chin. How's Danny?"

"Wait, how did you know about-"

"I was in the middle of one of my conspiracy theorists hunts at the library when I heard over the news that Five-0 was in a shootout. I called Lou and he told me everything," Jerry answers in between heavy breaths, "How's McGarrett?"

"McGarrett…...I haven't seen him yet. I've been waiting in the emergency room and the ICU while Lou's off to get the kids. Kono's with him right now trying to keep sane. I'm about to give them the news and I'm not exactly sure how to give it."

"N-news? And what news would that be?" Jerry's stammering pulls at Chin's guilt. _If I can't get past telling Jerry, I'm screwed for Steve._

"Sorry, yeah," Chin swallows before deciding to go into the simple, less traumatizing version of the news. "Danny took a hit to the head and it caused some swelling, known as a cerebral edema. He's in coma…Jerry?"

"I'm still here. Well, I'm like a couple blocks away but I'm still here. Just- just tell Steve that and…I don't know. Be there in ten minutes," Jerry finishes. He hangs up and Chin's back to standing in the hallway next to an elevator without a game plan. He scoffs and turns the corner to see Kono and Steve standing in front of the window nearest the cardiology wing. _Here I go._

Steve's still in his Kevlar and has a heightened, fearful face that would put Danny's 'aneurysm face' nickname to shame. Kono's struggling to keep up with the six-foot-tall ex- Seal's erratic pacing between the window and a nearby raggedy couch for visitors. If the lieutenant's completely honest, a part of him readies himself for Steve to suddenly push past Kono, leap over the couch and come charging at him, demanding answers.

And it's exactly what happens, minus the leap.

"Chin? CHIN!" Steve yells when he suddenly stops abruptly in his tracks and sets his sight on Chin. He pushes Kono to the side and damn near marches over to Chin before breaking into an incoherent ramble of words, "Give me something….anything…tell me- he can't die. Please. I can't-"

Chin puts his hands up in defense, sneaking a pleading glance to Kono momentarily. He ignores Kono cocking her head to the left and shooting a look that screams- _I know you, cuz. What the hell are you hiding?_

"Steve, Steve- Danny's alive! He's alive! Just breathe," Chin pleads, before putting a hand on Steve's shoulder. "But I need you to focus for me and listen- Danny's alive, but he took a hit and the doctors believe that it caused swelling and an increase in pressure in the skull. The doctors ran a CT on him and plan on keeping him sedated while monitoring him during treatment. Steve?"

* * *

For Steve, nothing registers.

He doesn't hear anything Chin says, doesn't register Kono's wrapping around him or the empathetic look coming from observers in the hallway. The dark haired man blinks a few times and lets out something resembling a squeak. _You've really done it,_ suddenly flashes across his mind, _your actions have resulted in a brain injury to your best friend._

Steve's knees suddenly buckle and he finds himself sliding against a wall to the floor. He just about to start cursing at himself aloud when his conscious decides to remind him of one of Danny's threats from a year ago.

* * *

 **A year ago- Denver, Colorado**

"What the actual hell made me come out here with you?" Danny growls at McGarrett as the pair stand on a bank overlooking a Marine practice range. It's almost seventy degrees colder than the blonde detective's used to and as much as he hates Hawaii, the state's godforsaken heat is suddenly coming into a new light.

"Your car got stolen and you had to use a bow and arrow to fight back," Steve replies quickly. He smirks at his partner and adds, "And I heard you weren't that good."

"And we couldn't practice this on the beach? In a field? Somewhere where I don't need a parka?"

"We could, but," Steve points to a group of Marines doing push-ups in the snow in front of an older gentleman, " that man leading the drill runs a two day camp for surviving without a gun. He's really good."

Danny scowls, "Then pay for him to come to Hawaii! Don't take me out to a snow tundra where I can learn how to become a Super SEAL. And where the hell's Kono and Chin fall into this? You left them back in Oahu!"

"You're my partner and I want you to be able to have my back if we're ever in a situation without a gun. And we're not in a snow tundra- there's six inches of snow on the ground, Jersey boy. Stop whining." Steve grins while watching Danny drop the large green survival backpack onto the snow.

"I hate you so much," Danny mutters, "You've brought me to the middle of Colorado to sneak peek how you'll get us trapped in the mountains without guns. How nice."

"No, but leaving you out here is tempting," Steve points a finger at Danny, "Don't embarrass me out there."

"Don't worry about me, Steven. All you need to do is remember this- if you get me killed or injured in some idiotic manner, I'm coming back and raising hell."

"By haunting and nagging me?"

"For that comment, you'll be lucky if I forgive you."

* * *

 **Present Day**

Chin pauses as he watches the color drain from Steve's face. He knows that Steve hadn't heard or processed anything he's said about Danny's treatment but he continues on anyway.

"Duke and the HPD found a pole with blood on the edge of it in the grass near where we found Danny," he states, "In the meantime, we can head to the ICU, get more explanations from the doctor and wait for the kids."

"So we aren't out of the woods yet," Kono says softly. She eyes Steve's heartbroken, shocked expression. _If something goes wrong, Danny could still die and Steve would never forgive himself for it._


	3. Chapter 3

"Officer Kalakauwa! Lieutenant Kelly! What happened?"

Rachel's crisp English accent rings through the air, capturing the cousins' attention in the hospital's Intensive Care Unit. Her call is loud enough to get a scowl from the charge nurse and a "shh!" from a brown-haired nurse that's just been assigned to Danny. In her daze, Rachel doesn't catch either as she finally reaches Kono and Chin and gets a glance at the figure lying in nearly still in the room.

"I thought you were in meetings all day," Kono replies in as calm as a voice as she can. It's been thirty minutes since Chin found her and Steve in the hall filled with pleading for the nearly catatonic ex- SEAL to move from the spot he had slid into on the ground and to head to Danny's room. If Kono's being completely honest with herself, they hadn't planned for what to do for when the English woman would arrive, let alone if she had arrived angry.

 _Maybe she'll be calm,_ Kono thinks in hope and it's a fleeting hope that ends quickly.

"How did this happen? A head injury?" Rachel yells, loud enough to draw attention. "I thought you all had things in place to prevent something like this from ever happening! Daniel never came home with the injuries back in New Jersey that are even remotely close to the one he gets now with McGarrett!"

Kono narrows her eyes at Rachel and digs deep to stop herself from looking any more visibly irritated than she already does. "Rachel, "she begins softly, "We take every precaution when going out in the field- you know this. Danny was chasing a suspect and a fight must have broken out-"

"Must have?! What do you mean- you don't know?"

"Steve and Danny had split up-"

Rachel huffs under her breath, "I thought they would always have each other's back and now this-"

Chin moves in to cut Rachel before Kono. He takes Rachel's trembling hands into his and asks in a calming voice, "Rachel, what is this really about?

Her expression softens quicker than expected. "I'm sorry…he's…..since I told him about Charlie, we've been working together and been at peace with each other. Married or not, I still care for him and I cannot- _cannot -_ have my children lose their father."

"Let's not get there- Danny's still here, "Chin assures. Rubbing her shoulder, Chin motions over to the open room holding the team's detective. "Let's go see our boy."

* * *

Two floors down, Lou spots Steve sitting against a wall on a bench. He's barely visible in the crowd of family members hoarding near the elevator but the six feet man's broad shoulders aren't hard to miss. Lou pauses before he casually strolls up to Steve and quickly sits down. Steve's crouched over with his head in his hands, trembling like he had earlier.

"Look man, there isn't anything I can tell you right now that is going to make things magically better," Lou starts, "So I'ma just keep talking to fill the silence. I'm not leaving you out of my sight. Williams would have wanted you up there in the room with him."

Steve shakes his slightly and keeps his head in hands without saying a word.

"You know I never understood the relationship between the two of you. Hell, half of the department claimed you two were a thing before I joined Five-0," Lou continues. He chuckles to himself momentarily at the running pot still probably taking place back at the HPD headquarters. "But I have to admire the loyalty and the…argumentativeness between the two of you. As much as you two bitch and whine at each other, you two are pretty strong- strong enough that Danny won't blame you for the shootout."

"You can't say that, Lou. Because of me-"

Lou rolls his eyes and pulls Steve back against the wall. "Because of you, he's still here! He hasn't left yet and the important people in his life, which includes all of us, is why he is still here! What happens next will happen, McGarrett, and you don't want to spend that entire time feeling sorry for yourself, especially if something happens that isn't for the better." _If he dies._

"That's not making much of a difference," Steve mutters under his breath, "If I go up there and he dies-"

"Stop anticipating and get up there, McGarrett. Don't make me drag you up there." Lou stands up and motions to the elevator, "You know I will. Just 'cause you're a SEAL that I can't take you down. I'll use little Danny and his big old brown eyes if I have to."

* * *

Lou's unusual threat works and Steve finds himself trembling, sweating and scared out of his mind inches away from Danny's room.

It isn't the idea of Lou dragging him upstairs that gets him go to go but the mention of Charlie- both Grace and young Charlie were both waiting upstairs with questions for their Uncle Steve and he couldn't work up the courage to even get on the elevator to go upstairs. The quiet ride on the elevator left him just shy of a nervous breakdown and the sight of Charlie's puppy eyed look and Grace's dazed expression don't help.

And then there was Rachel.

Before he had the chance to recognize the small brunette woman, she had marched towards him and slapped him hard across the face. Rachel immediately froze after she had done before muttering, "I'm sorry…. I was ok and now I just- he was never in this much danger while in New Jersey."

 _She's right._ Steve glances over his shoulder to the slightly ajar door where Chin had dragged Rachel off to not even a minute after the slap. Lou stands near the room door and sends him a nod that seems to say, _Don't worry about anyone right now. Just go._

The first step in the room isn't the hardest like he thought it would be. The room is larger than most he's been admitted to with silver curtains that separates Danny from an empty bed. Downtown Oahu can been see through the two windows that shine sunshine into the room in what seems like Mother's nature attempt to cheer him up. His partner is surrounded by unrecognizable machines that beep continuously as the only noise in the room.

Steve reaches out and grips the foot of the bed, taking a moment to observe Danny's state. The usually animated blonde haired agent is completely still with an IV running up his arm, a nasal cannula and an unfamiliar and incredibly scary looking device sticking out the right side of his head.

"Danno…." Steve whispers. Nothing else comes to mind and he's left standing for a minute speechless and breathless. He stands quietly staring down at his partner for almost two minutes without a word until he feels a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"What can I do to help?" she asks quickly.

"Can you wake my partner up?"

Kono smiles softly. "Unfortunately, no, but I can get a blanket and pillow so that you can be comfortable. I know you aren't going anywhere."


	4. Chapter 4

**King Kamehameha Statue, Downtown Honolulu- 3:26 am**

An unusually cool breeze sends a chill down Chin's back as he sits on a curb in front of the tall bronze statue. He tightens his grip on the thin plastic cup housing a terrible coffee from the HPD break room and continues to watch the rare passing vehicle on King Street. Nearly six hours after finding Danny on the street has passed and he's nowhere near taking time to sleep. With half of the streets surrounding the palace are closed off by police tape and surrounded by news trucks and HPD vehicles, the air somehow feels cool and quiet to Chin and it's unnerving as hell.

"I recall," he suddenly hears overs his shoulder, "that you had ordered me to go home and rest for the night – something that you had promised to do as well." His younger cousin appears by his side with crossed arms and a sad smile on her face. "Did you even make it home?"

"I went home and hugged Sara and then dropped her off at Auntie's," Chin answers. As Kono settles down next to him, he continues, "And then I came here."

Kono sighs. "I saw Adam for a bit and was planning to go back to the hospital. Steve's a mess and I'm sure he's terrorized half the people in the hospital. The idea of him being alone right now is terrifying, especially since-"

"He doesn't know that we haven't caught Danny's attacker?" Chin finishes. He pulls out his cellphone, pulls up an email and hands the phone to Kono. "Duke called me with an update about the case. Everything stolen from the jewelry store's been recovered, the owners of the Lexus RX have filed a claim, all the victims gave statements and only _three_ out of the four suspects have been caught."

Kono swipes through the pictures of the three suspects in custody- two are white, young with messy brown hair and the third appears to be middle aged with a strong physique. "They say anything about our missing guy?"

"No details- I remember getting a glimpse of him," Chin states, "But until we start talking with our suspects, we won't know for sure. Do you remember anything?"

"Dark hair, maybe? I'm not sure….the only person who could possibly give us an idea would be….Danny."

* * *

The first night in the hospital is long and painful.

Kono stays with Steve for an hour after finding a thin tan blanket and a surprisingly fluffy pillow for him to use. The two sit in silence for most of the period, Steve continuously watching Danny and hoping for him to wake and Kono eyeing the ex- SEAL cautiously. Grace, Charlie and Rachel visit a little bit before Kono leaves and stay for a painful half hour that nearly breaks Steve.

 _Rachel places Charlie on the bed next to Danny and asks, "Mommy, why is Danno sleeping like that? What's the thing in his head?"_

 _Rachel rubs her son's back and replies, "Because your father got hurt at work and needs to sleep to make him feel better The thing in his head is something to help the doctors make sure he's ok."_

 _Charlie nods slowly before turning to Steve. "Oh, ok. Uncle Steve, do you think he's gonna be ok?"_

" _Your Danno is a superhero, Charlie. I know that he'll be ok."_

Now Steve sits in Danny's dark hospital room as it nears midnight, trembling from the cool air passing through the room. Steve sinks back into the chair and rests his head against the top rail of the chair. His gaze falls on the ceiling fan whirring quietly above Danny's bed. Somehow, he's managed to ignore the continuous beeping from the heart monitor as it would push him over the edge. Between the heart wrenching visit from Charlie and Grace and the silence, he can't decide which one is worse.

 _Danno, I can't do the silence,_ Steve thinks as he rubs his hand against his chin. _You need to scream at me, call me a Neanderthal- shit, nag me on terrorizing the nurses._ The man suddenly stifles a laugh at the idea of Danny stepping in between the small brown haired nurse he had scowled at earlier and giving a longer than needed speech about behavior.

"Hey, you remember when…." Steve calls out before he trails off when he catches himself talking aloud. It terrifies him that for a moment he had forgotten that there's a chance that Danny could possibly answer back. "You remember the talk we had on the way back from Denver last year on the jet? You were still pissed about…everything and didn't talk me for the entire two days we were there. I kept bugging you to get you to talk- challenging you always gets you, by the way- it amazes me. But I remember that when I finally got to you, you told me that I didn't have your back."

The trip to Colorado last year hadn't been as successful as Steve had hoped. Besides Danny complaining every moment of the trip, the two-day survival camp had been brutally cold and much more intense than Steve had anticipated. Danny had nearly torn his ACL again on a hill and received numerous cuts and bruises from trying to keep up with the Marines.

Steve sighs at the memory of Danny scowling at him on the return flight home. "I couldn't believe it….I knew the trip was hard and cold, but I didn't realize that you felt like I didn't have your back. I'm always going to have your back….which sounds funny now. We split ways to hunt down our suspects and you get hurt. It makes me starting to wonder if you'd be better off without me. Plus-"

"Excuse me."

Steve nearly jumps out of his chair at the sound of soft voice coming from the doorway. He finds himself looking at a dark haired female nurse standing at the doorway. She flinches when he turns to her before stammering out, " I-I'm here to do a night check."

"Oh, I'll get out of your way-"

"No, there's no need," the nurse states quickly, " I'll be quick." She walks to the edge of the bed and pulls the chart from the foot of the bed. After a minute of glancing at Danny's stats, the nurse eyes Steve and adds, " You look like you could use a cup of coffee. There's a decent cup of coffee for sale down in our cafeteria."

Steve chuckles, "I don't think a cup of coffee will help me…."

"Leilani. And trust me, Commander McGarrett, a cup of coffee can do anyone good," Leilani laughs. "Detective Williams looks

"How do you know my name?"

Leilani moves to the side of the bed to get a better look on the "Everybody in this hospital knows about 5-0. Don't you have a frequent flyer pass to the emergency room?"

"One could say that," Steve chuckles, stealing a glance at Danny. " I'll get out of your way-"

"No, no- I'll be done in a minute," Leilani says. "If you aren't planning on some coffee, I'd advise you to get a little sleep."

 _Sleep,_ Steve thinks, _I'm not sleeping until Danny's awake. And after that, I'm not so sure._


	5. Chapter 5

**Ioloni Palace**

Lou takes a long sip of coffee as he sits in the smallest interrogation room owned by Five-0. The cup of coffee, a koana blend with a pump of cinnamon syrup, that he had picked up from the only coffee shop open on a Sunday morning is surprisingly satisfying. Maybe it's the sleep deprivation or the need to slap the scrawny suspect sitting across from him- either way, it's giving him enough energy to get through the needed interrogation.

"You ever go to Akamai Cup of Joe's?" Lou asks. He eyes the cup as he continues, " I learned that _Akamai_ means 'smart' which would make the title 'Smart Cup of Joe'. I was in a rush and in my sleep deprived state, I was convinced to get this weird, weird coffee. Again, as I am in a sleep deprived state, I'm finding myself liking this weird coffee- sleep deprivation makes a person do crazy things."

The suspect, rolling his eyes in the process, scoffs, "I don't care about some cup of coffee."

"You should. See I need this cup of coffee because I'm tired and sitting here in a room with a punk," Lou's tone suddenly hardens, "who decided to rob a jewelry store and get one of my ohana nearly killed. I honestly don't give a damn about why you did it or whatever sob story you've got- all I want to know right now is who's your friend who got away."

"I 'aint gonna -"

"Snitch? Boy, you didn't get my coffee analogy did you? I apologize if it didn't make any sense- see normally, I wouldn't buy a coffee like this because exhaustion can make you do crazy things. And normally, I wouldn't be sitting calmly across from a person who's complicit in an attack that hurt one of my own. Normally, I would have beaten some sense into you and threaten you with all kinds of hell that's waiting for you in jail. So use this opportunity and answer my damn question- who's your missing friend?"

The suspect looks up to the ceiling and rubs his chin as if he's pondering a decision. The man's overacting earns an eye roll from Lou and smirk. "Like I said before," the suspect starts to say but he's cut off by Lou slamming his hand against the table loudly. The suspect nearly jumps out of his seat and stares at Lou in disbelief and shock.

"I'm sorry- I don't think you understood where I was going with this," Lou states. "You are burning through my patience. One of your men put one of my friends in the hospital and if you don't answer my goddamn question, I'm going either smack you across this table until I get answers."

"You don't- can't-"

"I can and I will make your life a living hell unless you answer my damn question. There were four of you idiots at the jewelry store and we've only gotten three."

"I'm not-"

"Fine- let's start with something simple," Lou states, " What's your name?"

The suspect rolls his eyes and says, "Call me Dozer."

"No, what name did your mother name you?"

"Jaden."

"Good. So I'm guessing that you aren't more than thirty years old," Lou replies. He pulls a small office notepad from the edge of the table and a pen and begins to scribble notes. "I'm guessing that you've never had more than a minor drug pin on you. You don't seem like you have much experience in robberies seeing as your dumbass was the first to be caught." A small ping echoes from his cellphone and Lou glances over to see a message from Eric, Danny's nephew.

 _Jaden Harthrow, 29 years old native of Lincoln, Nebraska, a couple of minor charges, flew into Hawaii two weeks ago. Other two have similar background- Kono and Chin are with other two._

"So what made you fly into Hawaii two weeks ago, Mr. Harthrow?" Lou asks. He smiles when Jaden suddenly stiffens at the sound of his name. Lou smirks and nods towards his phone and adds, "I know everything I need to know about you. That's how screwed you are. Why are you here in Hawaii?"

Jaden runs his hands down his face, pausing for a moment before dropping his hands in his lap. Lou sits back and settles in his chair, counting down in his head for the impending outburst.

"Look, man!" Jaden suddenly bursts out, " I'm only here 'cause I needed a job. I-"

"Let me guess…..you found an ad-"

"Yeah! In a paper-"

"Goddamn it," Lou mutters. He stands and looks down at the suspect in front of him. "I'm going to guess that you don't know much about your co-conspirators either."

When the young man shrugs, Lou rolls his eyes and heads for the door. _This kid's not going to give us a damn thing. We're back to square one._

* * *

Back in the hospital, Steve suddenly drifts to sleep, his mind replaying a memory from a few years ago.

His mind drifts to the flight back from England after meeting the Queen and parting ways with one of their most adventurous companions, Harry Langford. Stuffed from the diner Danny had pressured him into going to, Steve had enjoyed the twin first class seats Langford had gotten for him and Danny by falling asleep minutes after the beautiful Boeing 747 had left Heathrow. When he had awoken a few hours into the flight, Steve had wanted to watch a movie and enjoy a nice dinner but instead had found Danny in a state he rarely saw.

" _Danny, you want - whoa, Danno-" Steve notes Danny's tight grip on the seat arm. " You ok?"_

 _Danny shakes his head anxiously without a word and continues a hard stare at the open window with a clear view of the Atlantic below them. Steve reaches out and touches his partner's arm, feeling his heartrate begin to race in worry when Danny jumps at his touch._

" _Danny, talk to me," Steve pleads. He leans forward and calls out in a hope to get Danny's attention, "You know I'm not going to let this go. Are you ok?"_

 _Danny quickly glances to the ex-SEAL and snaps, "I'm fine. Drop it."_

" _No. I'm not letting this go."_

" _God- fine, fine." Danny sighs in defeat and states, "I can't sleep. Because as long as we're traveling all over the damn place, I can't rest. When I close my eyes, I'm back in the damn plane. You- you're lying in the seat bleeding out and I'm still trying to figure out how the hell I'm supposed to land a plane. When we're back in Hawaii, I should be fine."_

 _Taken aback, Steve settles back into his seat while Danny turns his attention back to the view outside his window. Steve feels his heart sink at the guilt- he hadn't pushed Danny on his experience landing the plane on the beach that day. It didn't matter to him that he had been recovering or dealing with his own demons- he should have been there to support his partner._

 _Without a second thought, Steve reaches over and squeezes Danny's hand in support. "I'm here right now, man, alright? I'm not going anywhere."_

* * *

"Steve? You alright, man?"

Steve jolts awake, finding himself resting his head on his crossed arms on the edge of Danny's bed. He winces at the room's bright lights and the sunlight streaming through the open window. The cool morning air coming through the window also feels like a jolt to his system. He glances up to see Chin, now donning a blue and white Hawaiian shirt and blue jeans, and carrying a cup of coffee from Steve's favorite coffee shop.

"Morning. How's our man?" Chin asks. The man's energy oddly strikes a nerve in Steve and it makes him scowl. Chin cocks his head slightly to the left in curiosity and extends his out a cup of coffee towards Steve. "Any changes?"

Steve takes the cup of coffee and leans back in the chair. He scans the room and finds the pillow and blanket Kono had given him the night before on the floor near his feet and his partner lying still in the bed surrounded by machines just as he had been the night before. "Not that I know of. He's been the same since Kono left and me falling asleep, I guess."

"And you?"

Steve scoffs at the question. He steals a glance at the clock and guesses that he drifted asleep anyway between three to four hours ago. "I'm fine…" He can't bring himself to look at Danny as the memory of Danny's terrified look on the flight is front in his mind. "Worry about Danny, not me."

"I can't not worry about you, Steve," Chin states. He sits down at the edge of the bed and glances down at Steve's left tee shirt arm. "There's blood on your shirt."

"Huh?" Steve takes a double take on the small blots of blood on the edge of shirt. He can't place whether it is from the suspect that he took down near the delivery ramp or if it is from his partner. Bits of pieces of memory trickles back in of the paramedics turning Danny onto his back and the loading him into the ambulance. "I don't- I don't know…I don't know who's this is."

"Don't worry about that. I'll request a scrub from a nurse or have Kono swing by your place- "

Steve puts a hand to stop Chin mid-sentence and scoffs at the man's concern. "I was dreaming about our flight back from England after the plane crash," Steve states. When Chin settles on the edge of the bed, Steve continues, "I didn't listen to the flight recorder for a while- I couldn't. I never told anyone because I had been feeling weak and not myself after the accident. Knowing that Danny had given me a liver was already too much for me to handle. Then Danny panics on the flight back from England and I just…. I'm just going through every moment, every regret I have…I should have been there for him."

Chin pauses begore giving Steve an unexpected response, "Steve, I understand that feeling of want to sit and feel guilty, but you can't. First, Danny would kick your ass if he found out you were moping and second, you need to be there for Charlie and Grace. We…we don't know how long Danny will be in this coma so you need to get it together and be strong."

Steve winces and shakes his head without a word. It's enough for Chin to realize very little of what he had said has registered for the ex- SEAL. For once he can see the stubbornness that Danny's always ranted about- it isn't blatant but a natural stubbornness that comes with the kind of man that Steve is. He notes Steve's demeanor, hunched shoulders, head hanging low, and a complete an utter look of confusion. It's heartbreaking for Chin and yet it gives him some relief- _it isn't anger,_ Chin thinks, _I've seen anger in Steve and it isn't something he can come back easy from. This is different._


	6. Chapter 6

"Head home, Steve."

Chin's request leaves Steve feeling a myriad of emotions- surprised, confusion and most dominant- anger. After their heart to heart and reflection about the partners' conversation on the plane, Chin should have realized the ex- SEAL wasn't planning on leaving his partner's side any time soon.

"Steve, at least go get something to eat or go shower," Chin pleads. He leans against the edge of the bed and looks down in worry at his friend. "Like I just said, you aren't going to be any use sitting here and beating up on yourself. How about you go home and at least change?"

Steve sighs, shaking his head slightly in defeat. At the mention of a shower, a burning need for a hot steaming shower and cup of coffee wasn't beginning to sound half bad. He rubs a hand against the back of his neck and shoots Chin a warning look. "I'll be back in half an hour."

"3 hours. It'll take you near half an hour to make it home. I'll let you know if something happens- I promise."

Steve shoots a glare at Chin, who doesn't falter at the look. The ex-SEAL opens his mouth to protest but exhaustion takes over and he settles back in his chair. Steve notes the relief in Chin's eyes and feels the overwhelming guilt that's eating at him because of Danny expanding. A sudden knock on the door breaks the tension and Kono and Lou enter the room quietly.

"Hey, Steve," Kono greets softly. She initially moves towards the edge of the bed before pivoting and stopping next to Steve's side. As she places a hand on the back on the chair, Steve takes a quick scan of her appearance and sees the same ragged and worried look he had picked up on Chin. "How are you holding up?"

"Chin's trying to get me to go home."

"He's right, you know," Lou states. He plops down in a chair diagonal from where Steve stands and puts his feet up on the edge of the bed. "The three of us here will be here to keep an eye on him. We can't have you keeling over on us. Duke can drive you home."

Steve takes another glance over at his partner and takes in a slow, sharp breath to steady himself. It's a technique to calm himself that he hasn't had to use in recent memory. He closes his eyes and sets an image of the beach behind the house in his mind. _He won't die if you leave,_ he repeats in his mind a few times, _He can't._

Sitting in the back of Duke's police car ten minutes later, Steve settles against the worn-out car headrest in the passenger. Coasting down the Interstate H-1 for ten minutes now, Steve's fighting everything in him from falling asleep. Duke drives quietly, occasionally smirking at the yawns coming from Steve. The ex-SEAL shoots a scowl towards Duke at the smirks until they've been on the road for fifteen minutes. At fifteen minutes, Duke sighs and states, "Take a nap, Steve."

Before Duke finishes his statement, Steve finally relaxes and lets go, drifting off to sleep and back to the trip in Colorado from a year ago. _I should have listened to him,_ Steve thinks as he closes his eyes, _The trip was a bloody nightmare. He could have been seriously hurt. What was I thinking?_

* * *

 **A year ago- Denver, Colorado**

 _Ok, this isn't how I expected the week to go,_ Steve thinks as he stands less than five feet away from a rather scared Private First-Class Seth McDaniels. The young Marine is standing with two hands up in defense and glancing over his shoulder every ten seconds over the edge of the snowy cliff. Half way through a ten-mile hike in subzero temperatures, Steve can fully admit that his trip with Danny may not have been the best idea.

Steve catches himself clenching his fists and glaring darkly at the Marine. _It's freezing, it's in the middle of the night and this idiot's misstep put Danny in danger,_ runs through his mind, _and now Danny's hurt. Again._ The ex-SEAL jabs a finger in the private's face before moving the edge and the six-foot drop leading to his partner and a snowbank below. Only a few minutes earlier, Danny and Steve had been arguing over the same issue they had been fighting over for the last day.

 _"Next time we do this-"_

 _"You've said this one hundred times already," Steve snorted in annoyance, "This is an idiotic idea, what the hell were you thinking, what's the matter with you-"_

 _"No- that wasn't what I was going to say. What I was going to say that is that the next time the idea of going out in the woods in a snowstorm pops in your head- Ignore it! I'm pretty sure no task force on the face of the earth is going to have an idiotic idea of camping out in the middle of Colorado to be a brilliant idea. You do realize that I am a police officer, not in the army-"_

" _N.A.V.Y. Navy, Daniel. It's the Navy!"_

" _That's not the point, Steven! My point is that I don't want to be here!"_

 _Private McDaniels had suddenly turned around during their argument and screamed,_ _"You little ungrateful little punk ass cop! If you can't handle this, then go back and let the rest of us actually get something from this!"_

 _Danny didn't back down and smirked at McDaniels. "This doesn't concern you. Whatever I talk about with him has nothing to do with you."_

" _It's part of my business when you bitch and whine with your partner for four goddamn hours!"_

 _Danny took a step forward to challenge the younger man when Steve had stepped in between the two to intervene. He gave Danny a soft squeeze on the shoulder and pleaded calmly, "Stand down, Danny. This doesn't need to go any farther. Why don't you walk ahead?"_

 _Danny shook his head in frustration at Steve's suggestion and started to continue down the path. Private McDaniels stepped aside and leered at the detective as he passed. Whether on instinct, unintentional or to spite Danny, the private bumped into Danny, causing the detective to misstep on a loose patch of snow._

 _And in a blink of an eye, Steve watched as Danny's knee twisted and his partner fell backwards and over into the snowbank below._

"I'm sorry, man! He just went over the edge- "The Marine stammers as he tugs on the hem of his jacket, the smugness he had towards Danny now gone. He takes a few steps away from the edge and puts his hands up in defense when Steve scowls at him. The ex-SEAL suddenly grabs the Marine by the shoulder and growls, "I need your rope and your harness. Now."

"Yeah…yeah." The man hesitates before dropping his pack onto the snow and starts digging into the pack for a harness. Steve gets on his knees and leans over the edge of the cliff far enough to see the faint outline of what he figures to be Danny's backpack in the snow below. Before he begins to set up harness, Steve thinks anxiously, _I'm coming man, I'm coming. Please be ok. Please._

* * *

 **Present day**

 _"_ I'm going to have you in check in with Duke in about twenty minutes to make sure he got Commander McGarrett home," Chin directs the officer he's just contacted on the other end of the line. "As soon as you get a check in from Duke, keep an eye on them," he adds, picturing a panicked phone call from Duke of him somehow losing track of Steve. "Please."

With a confirmation from the officer, Chin ends the call and turns to Kono and Lou, who's in the middle of setting out crime scene photos from the jewelry store and the streets. Since Steve had left with Duke, the three-man team had taken advantage of the short break from their leader to meet.

Kono takes a sip of her coffee and eyes the photo closest to her. "Any ideas? We can't keep Steve at bay forever."

"We have to focus on what we know right now and come up with something. _Something_ ,"Lou answers. "My interview with the suspects went nowhere. Asshole answers ad, comes to Hawaii and blindly takes a job. I have Jerry checking into tracking back the ad to a source if possible. How was the crime scene?"

Kono takes over and pulls out a folded sheet of paper from her back pocket. As she unfolds the paper, she explains, "So the jewelry store had been scanned from head to toe HPD. Evidence is currently being moved from the palace to the palace. On the face of it, it looks like a normally robbery until we showed up."

"I spoke with the governor a few hours ago and had to keep her from sending in outside help," Chin adds in. He shutters at the long conversation that he had over the phone with the government before coming to see Steve. "I bought us a few days but she is absolutely pissed that her elite team had one of their own taken down by some simple robbers."

"So we're running on a clock with an emotional guilt ridden SEAL while our fourth suspect is out on the island?" Lou asks. "Do we have anything?"

"There may be something but until we hear back from Eric in the lab, it's up in the air," Kono chimes in. "We're waiting to hear back from the financials of the jewelry owner. He didn't seem as out of sorts when HPD interviewed him about the actual robbery so Duke poked around a bit to see if anything was off. A nearby store owner reported that the owner was showing his store around late at night a few days ago."

"So, the late-night tours and his reaction to the robbery- "

Kono reaches for the crime scene photo showing one of displays table that had been placed in the back of the showrooms. "Oh, it gets better," she adds, "He asked if anyone on Five-0 had been hurt or killed, completely unprompted."

A silence passes through the room as the three process Kono's information. Chin stands first with a flicker of determination in his eyes. "What's the name of this manager?" he asks, "The press hasn't caught wind that someone on Five-0 was injured. If they did, it'd be all over the news. How'd he know about it?"

Lou nods in the direction of the door. "That's a great question to ask him. Check in with Jerry and make sure that there's something suspicious for sure. After that, bring him and get some answers."


	7. Chapter 7

Ronald Gates sits in the dark interrogation room, tapping a finger against the back of the metal chair he's been sitting in for what feels like six hours. He's hot and hungry as hell and not to mention uncomfortable from the darkness and the fact that he's left his store- his recently robbed jewelry store closed for the day. The two HPD cops that had brought him had driven in him to Ioloni Palace in complete silence, leaving him sure that he's due to be arrested and put on trial for what had happened at the jewelry store.

 _I shouldn't have asked about the detective who was hurt,_ Ronald thinks anxiously. He puts his head in his hands for the tenth time and shakes it from left to right. "No, no, no-"

The lone door to the room suddenly opens and a female cop- _no,_ a member of the Five-0 task force walks in and shuts the door without a word. She rests her back against the door and eyes him in a way that he's too anxious to place. Then it hits him.

"Are you going to interrogate me?" Ronald stammers. His comment startles the woman and she takes a few steps towards him. "Are you serious?" she asks in disbelief.

"I've seen the cop shows-"

"Please, stop." The woman closes her eyes and forces out an annoyed breath before continuing, "I'm Officer Kalakaua from Five-0. I'm here to ask you about the inconsistencies we found in your file regarding the-"

"Is that cop alright?" Ronald blurts out. He doesn't pick up on Kono's glare. "I didn't want anyone to get hurt- well-well, I didn't want cops to get hurt. It- it just happened the way it happened and I…..is he ok?"

"You didn't want anything to happen to anyone? So you admit that you have a hand in all of this?"

Ronald puts his hands up in defeat, trembling. "I did- I mean, I do. Well, good Lord, it's hot."

"Ok, stop," Kono groans. She takes a glance back at the door and contemplates walking out of the room and begging Chin or Lou to deal with this. She soon huffs out a frustrated breath of air and turns back to Ronald. "I need you to tell me who contacted you, how many people came with you during your tour and why they chose you of all the places to rob. Time is of the essence here."

"Well, my pieces are-"Ronald drops his shoulders and apologizes, "Sorry. My secretary had called me a bit ago and told me that a client had requested a private viewing of my Hawaiian historical jewelry collection. It's one of the rarest on the island, mind you. So I come to the appointment and my client is there with a bodyguard-"

"Describe the client. His name, height, build- anything. Do you have security cameras with pictures or video?"

"A tall guy, nice black double-breasted suit and his bodyguard was a huge, beefy guy," Ronald replies. He scratches behind his left ear and adds, "I can get you the name he used but we don't have any security cameras for our client's privacy. I can tell you that once he got there, he seemed more interested in my life, the amount of customers I get it and….."

Kono places her hands on her hips. "And what?"

"He- um- asked about if any important people came through here. I told him that the Mayor, a- a few state officials and celebrities. And that Lieutenant Kelly had stopped in here once. He seemed more interested in when and what Lieutenant Kelly did and when he came that than anything else. He sent a group of people about a week later who came for an appointment."

"And what did they-"Kono is cut off by the sudden vibration of her cellphone in her back pocket. She holds up a finger while pulling the phone out of her pocket, before dropping her gaze down to the flashing notification on the screen. Her heart drops at the sight of a text message from Lou, reading:

 _Get back to the hospital. We've got a problem._

"We need to stop here, Ronald," Kono calls out. She doesn't check for a response from Gates as she heads to the doorway, replaying the important information she's just managed from the interview- _This wasn't random. Someone hired a team and planned this down to the wire. Question is – was this against Chin and Danny was just collateral damage?_

* * *

The moment he arrives home; Steve quickly showers, changes into a blue muscle shirt and black cargo pants and makes his way to his bedroom.

Sitting at the edge of the bed, Steve sits arched over with his palms resting on his thighs. During the drive home, the numbness he had felt in the hospital had dulled slightly due to the fresh air and change of scenery. But now, alone in his room with over two hours to kill, Steve's once again feeling complete and utterly lost.

Steve closes his eyes, drops his shoulders and allows himself to take in his surroundings. He can hear Duke busying himself in the kitchen downstairs, more than likely cooking the lunch he had offered Steve on the drive home. Outside, the crashing waves on the beach walking distance from the backyard has never felt so comforting since returning home nearly ten years ago. He doesn't allow himself to think of anything other than his surroundings. Joe White had spent time training Steve after a heartbreaking mission how to focus his energy away from "overthinking". Even though it's a technique he rarely remembers or cares to use, he's decided that in this moment alone and away from the hospital, it wouldn't be a bad thing to try.

 _This isn't working,_ Steve thinks in frustration less than a minute later when his mind once more drifts back to the clear image of finding Danny lying, alone and bleeding on the street. The memory is unbearably clear as everything replays in slow motion. He can remember feeling unusually relieved when initially handcuffing a suspect on one of the delivery ramps, the blaring police and ambulance sirens fading into the background and heartbreak and despair hitting him hard at the pooling blood next to his partner's temple.

"Gah, stop!" Steve exclaims. He inhales deeply before he slowly leans back until his back touches the sheets, settling onto the bed. His eyes lock onto the spinning fan, the light brown fan slowly blowing the humid air around the room. Steve notes the chipped edge of one of the fan's blades and snorts at the memory of arguing with Danny in his bedroom during a barbecue the previous summer.

" _I told you- I told you, Super Seal, that something bad was going to happen today."_

" _Stop being overdramatic. The ball went through the window because Chin didn't catch my pass. It's not world ending."_

" _Your psychotic little ninja throw went across the yard, over the trees, broke the window and your ceiling fan on your second floor. You never listen to me, do you?"_

"Still overdramatic," Steve whispers out loud. A smile momentarily creeps on his face before his mind wanders once more to the memory of finding Danny. This time the memory includes what he believes to be the suspect, a man in a black sweatshirt and jeans, running down the street away from Danny. He isn't sure whether the memory is true or not, but it's enough for him to spark an awareness of details of the case that's been missing since finding Danny. _I need to make sure nothing like this happens again,_

"You alright, Steve?"

Steve doesn't flinch at the sudden sound of Duke's voice. He only sighs before looking to the doorway to find the sergeant leaning against the frame with his arms crossed. Mustering up a weak smile, Steve nods and replies, " I'm alright. Thinking about Danny and the case. Is it alright if I check in at the office before we head back to the hospital?"

Duke raises an eyebrow, his eyes searching Steve's expression suspiciously. "So you want to grab…. _paperwork_?"

Steve shrugs, keeping a relaxed expression on his face; however, his mind begins racing, picturing Chin, Kono or Lou giving Duke instructions on how to "handle" him. "Look, Duke. I'm scared as hell for Danny- _terrified if_ I'm honest. I can't just sit here for two and a half hours without doing anything and I-I can't sit in the hospital and wait without losing my mind. Least I can do is check in with the Governor and make sure that everything in this case is over and done with when Danny wakes up."

There's a moment where Steve swears he can see what looks like uneasiness in Duke's eyes. The sergeant states calmly, "Well, I know that Chin and Lou have it under control so there's really no need. I made a few sandwiches downstairs. You've got to eat something and give yourself a minute before rushing off to the hospital."

Steve sits forward and his expressions darkens "I lead Five-0, Duke. Is there- is there something you aren't telling me?"

"Come on, brudduh. There's no conspiracy against you here. We want to make sure you are alright during all of this. Trust us," Duke pleas. He steps in the room before squeezing Steve's shoulder in solidarity. The older man then leaves the room quietly, leaving Steve with a single thought- _Something's wrong. He's hiding something from me._


End file.
